Jamie Johns: Tour of China

A selection of Jamie Johns' journal entries during her fellowship in China in 2010-2011. Johns researched the decline of breast-binding and the introduction of the Western-style bra in early 20th century China. With the goal of modernization, state reformers discouraged and eventually banned the custom of breast-binding as a symbol of an outdated past.

Focusing on the magazines of the era and their representations of women, Johns examines how the rhetoric of nationalism and motherhood were inscribed on women's bodies. Her journal includes observations on contemporary sexual politics in China and cultural representation in high fashion.